ILA Labor Negotiations

ILA Labor Negotiations

The JOC has covered every step in negotiation of a new International Longshoremen’s Association for East and Gulf coast ports since bargaining began early in 2012. Although employers and the union reached agreement on a coastwide master contract earlier this year, some local agreements remained to be hammered out. Discord most recently flared up in Baltimore, which experienced a three-day strike in October — a strike that an arbitrator ruled violated the "no-strike" clause of the master agreement.

News & Analysis

International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold Daggett said the ILA won’t change its contract bargaining process, except possibly to try to reverse the order in which coastwide and local agreements are negotiated.

A second arbitrator has ruled that the no-strike clause in the coastwide master contract the International Longshoremen’s Association ratified last year applies even in ports where bargaining on supplementary local contracts remains incomplete.

David Adam, chief negotiator for U.S. East and Gulf Coast waterfront management, challenged employers and the International Longshoremen’s Association to consider changes to their bargaining process before their next contract expires in 2018.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association are meeting independently today to consider various issues that have been raised in contract negotiations, although they remain ready to reconvene face-to-face talks in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday if necessary.

Commentary

Can the International Longshoremen's Association and United States Maritime Alliance tweak their bargaining process so that it doesn't scare shippers every three to six years? We'll find out ... eventually.